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<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      type="topic" style="tip"
      id="net-macaddress">
  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="net-general"/>

    <revision pkgversion="3.4.0" date="2012-02-20" status="final"/>

    <credit type="author">
      <name>Shaun McCance</name>
      <email>shaunm@gnome.org</email>
    </credit>
    <credit type="author">
      <name>Jim Campbell</name>
      <email>jwcampbell@gmail.com</email>
    </credit>

    <desc>The unique identifier assigned to network hardware.</desc>
    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
  </info>

  <title>What is a MAC address?</title>

  <p>A <em>MAC address</em> is the unique identifier that is assigned by the manufacturer to a piece of network hardware (like a wireless card or an ethernet card). MAC stands for <em>Media Access Control</em>, and each identifier is intended to be unique to a particular device.</p>

  <p>A MAC address consists of six sets of two characters, each separated by a colon. <code>00:1B:44:11:3A:B7</code> is an example of a MAC address.</p>

  <p>To identify the MAC address of your own network hardware:</p>
  <steps>
    <item><p>Click your name on the top bar and select <gui>System Settings</gui>.</p></item>
    <item><p>Open <gui>Network</gui> and select <gui>Wired</gui> or <gui>Wireless</gui> from the list on the left (depending on which device you want to check).</p></item>
    <item><p>Your MAC address will be displayed as the <gui>Hardware Address</gui>.</p></item>
  </steps>

  <p>In practice, you may need to <link xref="net-editcon">modify or "spoof" a MAC address</link>. For example, some internet service providers may require that a specific MAC address be used to access their service. If the network card stops working, and you need to swap a new card in, the service won't work anymore. In such cases, you would need to spoof the MAC address.</p>

</page>